𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Speaking at an event by campaign group Mainstream last night, Ms Rayner said Labour had come to be seen to represent “the Establishment, not working people”. She said: “As a party, and as a movement, we cannot hide, we cannot just go through the motions in the face of decline. There’s no safe ground and we’re running out of time.

“The change that people wanted so desperately needs to be seen, it needs to be felt, and we have to show that it is a Labour government that will deliver it.”

The Ashton-under-Lyne MP also took aim at Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s immigration reforms.

She warned that changes to indefinite leave to remain for people already living in Britain would be a “breach of trust”.

She said: “Many people came here to Britain – on the understanding that if they worked in the sectors where we needed them, obeyed the law and paid their taxes, they could stay.

“If we suddenly change that, it pulls the rug from under those who have planned their lives and commitments and are contributing to our economy and to our society.

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“That would be not just bad policy but a breach of trust. The people already in the system – who made a huge investment – now fear for their future, they do not have stability and do not know what will happen.

“We cannot talk about earning a settlement if we keep moving the goalposts, because moving the goalposts undermines our sense of fair play. It’s un-British.”

Ms Rayner has faced ongoing speculation over her leadership ambitions as Labour’s poll ratings have plummeted under Sir Keir.

She resigned as housing secretary and deputy prime minister last year after a row over her underpayment of stamp duty on a new seaside flat.